After roughly eight years of construction, the first-of-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford was christened on Nov. 9, 2013, in Newport News, Virginia. Designed and built by Huntington Ingalls Industries (which employed 5,000 American shipbuilders for its construction), the carrier has been called “The Floating City,” and for good reason: its flight deck spans five acres, it weighs nearly 100,000 tons, it can reach speeds in excess of 30 knots, and it can hold 4,660 personnel and 75 aircraft. The carrier is also the first to make a significant leap to electrical power over steam power, which has better prepared it for future technologies. It is the most efficient aircraft carrier ever designed, requiring 30 percent less maintenance than other ships and operating with less manpower, which will save the US Navy more than $4 billion during the ship’s 50-year life.
